Drew Barrymore tries so hard in Grey Gardens. She earns an A for effort – and a D for results. All her straining undermines the HBO movie, which had its debut Saturday.

Grey Gardens, the true saga of eccentric “Big Edie” Bouvier Beale and daughter “Little Edie,” was first a documentary and later a Broadway musical. The dramatic version unfolds like a lush soap opera that goes horribly wrong.
Barrymore looks lovely as young Little Edie, but she adopts a wobbly accent that grates. She sounds like a bad Katharine Hepburn impersonator. The actress fumbles as Little Edie ages 40 years; Barrymore looks ready for Halloween rather than this movie.

Courtesy of Orlando Sentinel / The Dallas Morning News